Strings of my heart
by Ragna ICEland
Summary: When she came into their bedchamber, completely exhausted after the day’s work –when he craved the most for her caresses -he sometimes left the room when she went to bed and didn’t return until she was asleep, trying to distract himself. One-shot.


_**Here's another little one-shot which I'm not quite as proud of as 'The Duke' but I still thought it was worth the post. I have a few more ideas up my sleeve but I don't know how long until I get around to write them but I will. We really need to up the number of Stravaganza fanfictions…**_

**_I'm sorry if there are any spelling/grammer errors._**

_**Please read and enjoy… wouldn't mind reviews either… **_

*****

_**Strings of my heart**_

Being the Duke of Bellezza wasn't easy. -Or more precisely, being the Duchessa's husband wasn't easy. It required rules and rites beyond count every single day.

Surely Luciano loved his Duchessa more than anything. He loved watching her performing her daily duties and multiple tasks. His eyes would darken in lust when she smiled slyly at someone she was bargaining with, appearing as if she held all the cards in her hands. His heart would swell with pride when she waved the people from the balcony of the palace, their shouts and applause becoming a deafening roar. His knees would go weak when she addressed the congress with grace, firmness and rationality that blew everyone away and he would think to himself 'What a woman'.

Despite his love for this near divine being, he sometimes missed the spontaneous, adventurous, wild girl he once knew. She was still there somewhere underneath it all and sometimes she burst out in fiery passion in the dark of the night, but decreasingly so.

–Especially these days, when she was busy in negotiations with the Duke of Carinthia.

He was glad to be by the Duchessa's side every step of the way but sometimes he just felt like he was getting in the way. It wasn't that he felt useless. He and Silvia both deliberately tried to keep out of the spotlight as to not draw attention to themselves; he who was not of this world and she who was supposedly dead.

But behind the scenes their opinions and views mattered. He had knowledge ahead of his time and a fresh perspective while she had experience and a great political sense and as far as the young ruler and her father and unofficial co-ruler, Rodolfo–were concerned, they were indispensable.

But so often the Duke felt like he was suffocating from all the formalities and rules of behavior and he was painfully aware of how much simpler his lifer would have been, had he lived in the 21st century. He was ashamed when he realized that he was jealous of the people who had the time and full attention of the Duchessa and he felt terribly selfish when he had to fight the urge to barge into her meetings, pull her out and demand that she took some time to tend to him and his needs. But, having become used to this life, he was in control of his emotions.

When she came into their bedchamber, completely exhausted after the day's work –when he craved the most for her caresses -he sometimes left the room when she went to bed and didn't return until she was asleep, trying to distract himself.

*****

One of those nights, he tucked her in, smiled when she sighed contently, stroked her hair and kissed her cheek. Then he stood up. "Good night, my sweet. I need to see your father about something," he said and left.

Arianna found that she was unable to sleep. She missed the warmth of her husband beside her. She knew that their time together was limited these days, the most intimate affair being when they breakfasted together in the comfort of their room.

She thought she knew why he fled it when she went to sleep but wasn't sure what to do about it. She did need the sleep to be perfectly alert in the presence of the wretched, manipulative, opportunistic, but-most-of-the-time-incredibly-boring ambassadors, congressmen and tycoons.

She had come to enjoy the work that came with her title, feeling that she was doing something of importance but on the expense of her private life –and of course her love life…

Thoughts swirled around in her head and she was still awake when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Her father stuck his head through the doorway. "Good evening, my dear. Is Luciano here?"

Arianna sat up. "I thought he went to see you."

Rodolfo frowned. "I haven't seen him since this morning."

The Duchessa was silent for a while, while she tried to remember whether had said he was going somewhere else. Unsuccessful at that, she got out of bed, wrapped a shawl around herself and went with her father to look for her husband, uncomfortable with the fact that he had lied to her.

Halfway down the grand stairs to the second floor a faint sound reached their ears.

Rodolfo looked at Arianna. "Is anyone supposed to be in the feasting hall?"

She shook her head. "Must be a servant."

As they drew closer the sound became clearer. It was a string instrument, 'A violin,' Arianna thought. She was drawn by the rather exotic music.

Rodolfo opened the door slightly. The grand chandelier was not lit and the spacious hall was dark except for two candles on the bandmaster's table where the note sheets were kept.

The two gave each other questioning glances before they approached the figure standing next to the table with his back to them, the one producing the haunting melody from the violin he held on his shoulder.

There was a young maid there too, she must have let him in when she went there to clean the fireplace. She was kneeling by it with a scrub in her hand but she wasn't moving, not wanting to interrupt the beautiful music.

The intensity of the tune grew.

Rodolfo would have asked him to stop if he known it but he didn't know anything about _Requiem for a dream_ and therefore he couldn't possibly recognize _Lux Aeterna_. So he said nothing and just enjoyed.

The last note that should have faded smoothly, ended in an off-key screech when the violinist abruptly took the instrument from under his cheek and Arianna heard how upset he was by the hitched breathing. She felt herself tear up. She walked to him while her father remained where he was and she put a hand on his shoulder. When he didn't face her she went to stand opposite to him. His eyes were closed but she could see the light ricochet from the streaks of fallen tears.

"That was beautiful," she whispered.

Luciano smiled through his tears and took another deep breath trying to calm himself but he didn't trust his voice to speak yet.

Arianna took a step closer to him. "I didn't know you could do that, where did you learn that?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

After a moment of silence he replied in a husky voice.

"My mother. She taught me. I thought I had forgotten everything… I haven't… since… it hurts to…" he looked down somewhat self-conscious over this outburst of otherwise well kept emotions.

She clasped his hand in hers. "It was so wonderful. I wish you did it more often."

He just shrugged.

One more step forwards and she was engulfed in his arms and she reached with her own around his neck, pulling his face down to her. "I know you miss her terribly. If there was anything I could do to…" she trailed off and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you want to go visit them?" she laid her hand over his heart where she knew the white rose was hidden under his shirt.

He shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving her face. He put his hands over hers and pressed them against his chest. "No…" he had gained control of his voice and now his eyes were burning, boring into her. "No need."

She gazed back at him. "None?"

He chuckled -knowing they had changed the subject completely -and raised her hand to his lips, kissing each fingertip and warming her palm with his hot breath. She felt her heart begin to race and closed her eyes. "Would you like to play some more?" she mumbled when she felt his lips trail up her arm to her shoulder. She opened her eyes in time to see him grin devilishly.

"What do you think I'm doing right now?"

"I think this tune is a bit too fast for the strings of my heart."

His grin was immediately replaced by a look of concern. "You must be terribly tired after the day." The concern in his eyes was betrayed by a slight sound of disappointment in his voice.

"Not that tired," she replied, determined not to put any more distance between them.

When he still hesitated, she pressed her body into his. "Luciano…Please" she whispered into his ear.

He smiled happily, lowering his head to the side of her neck and kissing his way up to her earlobe at which he nibbled loosely, making her shiver.

Rodolfo, who had been standing quietly behind them all along, catching most of their words, turned away.

The maid was still kneeling by the fireplace, her cheeks glowing bright red with embarrassment and her eyes shifted back and forth between the couple and the door, obviously pondering how she could get out without interrupting the ducal couple. Rodolfo took pity on her and beckoned her to follow him. She stood up slowly and tip-toed past her employers, carrying the scrub, cloth and bucket of water she used to do her work. And then she dropped the scrub to the floor with a clatter but the two lovebirds showed no signs of calling guards, or otherwise intending to punish her for the untimely disturbance so she let out a relieved sigh and followed the Regent as quietly as she could out of the hall.

*****

"Arianna…" he moaned, short of breath, pulling away to look at her face. "Let's go to bed."

*****

Rodolfo entered his apartment quietly but not quietly enough to escape his wife's attention.

"Did you talk to him?" she said as she pulled the cloak from his shoulders.

He smiled. "In the end there was no need for it."

"Oh?" Silvia gave him a wily look.

"But you know all about it, don't you?" Rodolfo smiled back at her. She shrugged.

"I wish one could hear sound through your mirrors."

They went into the room where all the mirrors were kept. The feasting hall was empty. There was a black velvet cloth draped over the mirror that showed the Duchessa's bedchamber.

*****

"Mmmh…" she sighed, ecstatic in the afterglow, nuzzling his shoulder. His hand was in her hair, softly massaging her scalp. As sleep took them, she had a fantastic idea. "Luciano," she murmured unclearly. "I know exactly what to get you for your birthday."

Luciano smiled in his sleep.


End file.
